A man rescued off the coast of Cuba by a Disney cruise ship has been arrested in connection with a computer attack on a Boston hospital.

Martin Gottesfeld, 31, and his wife made a distress call on Tuesday from a sailboat, according to federal prosecutors.

But after he was pulled to safety, agents connected Gottesfeld to the active 2014 investigation into hacking group Anonymous and its alleged attack on Boston Children's Hospital in 2014.

He appeared in the city's US District Court on Wednesday facing conspiracy charges, which carry up to five years in prison. He also faces a $250,000 fine as the hospital claims it suffered $300,000 damages during the attack.

The hack was connected to the high profile case of Justina Pelletier, the 16-year-old Connecticut girl who was held against her will for a year.

Martin Gottesfeld, 31, (pictured) and his wife made a distress call on Tuesday from a sailboat. They were rescued by a Disney cruise - then Gottesfeld was arrested by the FBI for a hack on Boston Children's Hospital

According to the FBI, Gottesfeld and Anonymous shut down the hospital's servers.

Investigators also believe he posted a video on YouTube that gave the public information they could use to join the attack on the hospital's servers.

Using the rallying cry #FreeJustina, Gottesfeld also joined protesters on Twitter calling for her release.

Pelletier first checked in to Boston Children's Hospital in February 2013 with flu-like symptoms.

But the family became embroiled in a custody battle with the state when hospital staff insisted her genetic muscular condition was in fact a stress-related mental disease caused by domestic abuse.

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Mitochondrial Disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose, and support groups claim many sufferers are accused of fraud, or their parents accused of abuse.

Held in a psychiatric ward, Justina claimed hospital staff were 'mean and nasty' and accused her of faking her condition.

They told her she had Somatoform Disorder, which is considered to be anxiety-related with sufferers feeling real pain that cannot be medically explained.

Between 0.2 and 2 per cent of females and 0.2 per cent of men in the U.S. have been diagnosed as sufferers.

Justina's family insisted she did not have Somatoform Disorder symptoms when she was admitted to Boston Children's Hospital.

The hack was connected to the high profile case of Justina Pelletier, the 16-year-old girl (pictured) who was held against her will for a year. They allegedly shut down the hospital's servers to protest for her freedom

She couldn't see her family without a welfare supervisor or hospital staff member in the room.

And she was rarely allowed outside for fresh air and spends most of her time in a small room, off the main psychiatric ward, without even a television to occupy her time.

She was finally released in June 2014 after 16 months in relative captivity.

Gottesfeld was arrested on Wednesday and charged with conspiracy after the Disney ship returned to Miami.

Prosecutors say Gottesfeld knew about the federal investigation because FBI agents searched his home in 2014.

An attorney for Gottesfeld declined to comment. Anonymous has not addressed the arrest.

THE JUSTINA PELLETIER CUSTODY CASE

Justina was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease several years ago, a genetic condition that affects muscle coordination and mobility.

The illness includes a group of neuromuscular diseases caused by damage to intracellular structures that produce energy.

There is no cure for the condition that is progressive and can cause death.

Symptoms can include weakness, intolerance for exercise, heart failure, dementia and rhythm disturbances.

Every year 1,000 to 4,000 children in the United states are born with a mitochondrial disease.

After being admitted to Boston Children's Hospital in February however doctors concluded the teenager was suffering from Somafotorm disorder, a psychological condition that causes sufferers to feel pain, although there is no physical cause for it.

Sufferers do not feign the physical symptoms they feel, rather they present themselves as the result of mental strain.